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Traffic Jams

By Skean Dhude

Interestingly enough I’m considering that road blockages may not be as bad as we think with cars blocking every road after an event. It is simply understood that the scenes we see on the US films and shows will be fact after almost any event. Why?

Many events we are looking at do not require anyone to make a run for it. Pandemics, Economic Collapse and Collapse of Society means people can enjoy those in their own homes, why should they all get into their cars at the same time and make a run for it?

A toxic fire, nuclear leak, tsunami or an asteroid heading their way would be a good reason for everyone to get in their cars but those are relatively local events. They have to be or there is no point in running. So people streaming out would virtually be looking after themselves. In smaller towns like mine, there are a few bottlenecks but in the main they would get to the main A roads and motorways without many issues. Basically people jumping the lights, minor shunts, where we would still exchange documents in the British way, Depending on how far the area affected stretched they may get into trouble with queues and breakdowns. The roads would be stretched much worse than Rush Hour.

Cities would be a different story. I think that cities will be blocked quickly, most motorways and major roads out of the cities while many will be trapped in their own streets as the junctions are blocked by people running lights, minor shunts until people start running out of fuel. Very few will start this with full tanks.

I can then see a large number of cars trapped, with fuel, whilst crashed and broken down cars block them in. Fuel that we should consider our own in the right circumstances.

Out in the country or small towns there probably won’t be the people leaving or the mass of cars to jam the roads but there will be the occassional blocked road because of an accident as two cars or trucks heading down a narrow lane too fast as one tries to get home.

This makes the roads unpredictable for bugging out as we have all been saying but I just don’t see the roads blocked as bad as we are thinking in all but the cities and key choke points. These choke points will easily be cleared after an event if we wanted to.

I live on the outskirts of a town and I’m planning to Bug In anyway. I’m still looking at the options available if we are forced to Bug Out. The big issue here is I’m guessing which way they would go and I’m wondering how I can make it more scientific and accurate.

13 comments to Traffic Jams

The simplest answer appears to be if you are planning on bugging in or out is carrying a bike ( folding or otherwise) in or on your vehicle. Get as far as you can by car and if you get through all well and good, but should you get stuck you can abandon the car and use the bike.

Owners with better budgets and larger vehicles could take a small motorcycle with them instead of a bicycle.

appreciate your comment NR. I’ve thought of bikes too, and have several. thinking maybe after the dust settles (months perhaps) then we could use a bike or any vehicle. in the early stages, too many crazies running around and i would feel too vulnerable in/on any vehicle unless its armored. i’ve imagined riding the bike and someone with just a big stick jumps out and puts it in the wheel, never mind someone taking a shot with a crossbow or other weapon. just my opinion. remember mad max? dude had a bad ass car, and got taken out by a guy with a rock. if we go anywhere will be within walking distance.

sometimes here in s. florida we must decide to stay or go when hurricanes approach. when we decide its bad enough to leave, we pack up everything and hit the road by 5am, dogs and all. in my opinion timing is everything. if we had a far away BOL I would try to hit the road as early as possible, before most cars have run out of fuel. If there is so many cars out of gas that they are blocking the road, then any moving vehicle is a HUGE target.

In a non catastrophic event, there would probably be no fleeing.. Why leave behind the comfort of home and flat screen TVs?

As per your boiling frogs article, in a slow burn crisis at some point fuel would stop being delivered, sheeple might well then hit the petrol forecourts to fill their tanks but continue with normal routines assuming that the crisis will soon be over, like always. By the time it is realised that the fuel supply is permanently off or will be minimally available, many will have insufficient fuel for any long range journeys.

NR,
Actually we are right on the edge of the everglades protected area. Have a couple small skiffs that friends gave me, but would feel too vulnerable in them too, at least for a while. going to live in the swamp is like “plan D” I think. 🙂 plenty of food and water out there, and hazards too. besides gators, there’s pythons 15 ft long, poisonous snakes, black bear, and a few panthers (lions).

a friend of mine plans on going to the keys, not a bad plan, just not for me at this time. thing I like about his plan is that he’ll be going opposite direction of most people.

IIRC wasnt it H Andrew that totally buggered things up in that area because even though people had plenty of notice to evac ( including the preppers) many left it to late and found themselves crawling along at 4 mph in first gear for over 14 hours and people who set of with full fuel tanks found themselves running out in the middle of Nowheresville?

your are correct. its like the boy who cried wolf story. there are so many false alarms where TPTB scare the hell out of everyone and nothing happens, that complacency sets in. Each family has to make their own decisions, cause as you point out, if a family waits for official evacuation it may be too late to go anywhere. We pay attention to the situation and decide on a course of action, not waiting for someone to tell us what to do.

I learned huge amounts of info from the prepper communities autopsies of the event, some of the Floridian preppers simply could not have done any more to prep, they had plans, kit they had practised to a high standard and yet I read of highly experienced prepper families stuck on empty roads in rural Georgia as they ran out of petrol after epic slow speed crawls out of FLA.

I’ve got a “Googled” map print out of my county, on it I have marked the main “refugee” routes out and the points at which a blockage could occur, mostly where main A roads join the Motorway! I guess its a matter of knowing your area and making sure in” an event” we avoid the most obvious dangerous areas.

Agreed.
Depending on the situation, you’ll need to leave or stay. As I’ve posted before, it’s vital that you know what your local authority has as a preparedness plan. This will give you the best idea of what the traffic situation will be (however, Medway, Kent’s plan has not been reviewed since 2008…
They say that they will generally hand us over to the authorities to manage. So, a few scenarios to consider:
1. Living near a hospital or ambulance route. Listen outside and if ylu hear sirens often, you’re on a route. These routes are likely to be controlled by police or army.
Also, you will be living on that route so expect walk-ins by injured people moving past your proprty, a risk. As the local hospitals fill to brimming, people waiting for treatment will camp near the hospital, your back yard. Be prepared…

Agreed.
Depending on the situation, you’ll need to leave or stay. As I’ve posted before, it’s vital that you know what your local authority has as a preparedness plan. This will give you the best idea of what the traffic movement plans are,for an event
They say that they will generally hand us over to the authorities to manage. So, a few scenarios to consider:
1. Living near a hospital or ambulance route. Listen outside and if ylu hear sirens often, you’re on a route. These routes are likely to be controlled by police or army.
Also, you will be living on that route so expect walk-ins by injured people moving past your proprty, a risk. As the local hospitals fill to brimming, people waiting for treatment will camp near the hospital, your back yard. Be prepared…
2. Possibility of curfews applied by govenment. In cities, an issue but not so much in the country. So either plan a post curfew plan if you need to move after curfew or move out of,busy areas.

Agreed.
Depending on the situation, you’ll need to leave or stay. it’s vital that you know what your local authority has as a preparedness plan. This will give you the best idea of what the traffic movement plans are,for an event
They say that they will generally hand us over to the authorities to manage. So, a few scenarios to consider:
1. Living near a hospital or ambulance route. Listen outside and if ylu hear sirens often, you’re on a route. These routes are likely to be controlled by police or army.
Also, you will be living on that route so expect walk-ins by injured people moving past your proprty, a risk. As the local hospitals fill to brimming, people waiting for treatment will camp near the hospital, your back yard. Be prepared…
2. Possibility of curfews applied by govenment. In cities, an issue but not so much in the country. So either plan a post curfew plan if you need to move after curfew or move out of,busy areas.